Not taking yourself too seriously.
As one emerges from Tottenham Court Road station, a new icon has been erected, its marque luminous and digital, its black exterior fitting for the location on the edge of Soho. It’s the first new theatre in London’s West End for half a century, and unusually for theatre in the Capital, it’s a rare ‘in-the-rounds’ stage: @sohoplace.
It feels slightly too modern, out of place, new. Alas, this isn’t a bad thing as it challenges the concept of West End theatre we know and love. And just as fitting is the first show running here: Marvellous.
For many Brits, the story of a plucky underdog, who gets by in life as a bit of a chancer resonates with us all. It’s the ‘pull up your socks and get on with it’ mentality that has defined generations, whilst not taking yourself too seriously. Meet then our protagonist for the evening, Neil Baldwin.
You may know that name. Baldwin was subject of a BBC drama in 2014, and later published an autobiography, though I must admit his name didn’t ring a bell.
Perhaps the most wonderful thing about this production is that instead of the usual stuffiness, the production itself is an embodiment of Baldwin in every way. The six actors playing Baldwin in different guises interact ‘casually’ with the audience, there is no ‘curtain raise’ per se, and when we meet the ‘real’ Neil Baldwin, he’s sat amongst us as part of the audience. The cast is diverse in almost every way (age, gender, disability, race) and the roles played out are gender blind too, with each actor bringing a different style to Baldwin’s story.
Throughout act one, the audience is taken on a somewhat jarring journey – not that this is a bad thing. It represents perhaps the chaos in Baldwin’s own life. We are told the story on a timeline that jumps around, and is purposefully chaotic, whilst the cast break character (actors playing actors playing at times it felt more actors, though I promise you this makes sense on the stage).
But the real magic is act two, where the arc twists and turns grappling with Baldwin’s learning difficulties, the realities of whether people are laughing with him or whether he is being laughed at. We realise that despite his ability to graft, there is a reliance on his mother who has perhaps been the one constant through Baldwin’s life.
It’s hard to talk about because in truth I don’t want to give anything away and spoil seeing this production for the first time. However, Baldwin’s signature character of getting away with ‘it’, making us all feel relaxed and reassured even when the narrative is tough, as well as dare I say bringing the audience pure joy at moments throughout the play, is something you must see before the short six-week run closes.
From clowning around to acapella, much like the like of Baldwin so far, this show will bring you happiness, if you relax into it and don’t mind being part of the joke.
‘Marvellous’ is running at @sohoplace theatre until Saturday, 26 November 2022, and a special thank you to Thomas for bringing me to see it last night.